Thailand lost its status as the world’s top rice exporter in 2012

Thailand lost its status as the world’s top rice exporter in 2012 as a controversial scheme to boost farmer incomes saw it overtaken by India and Vietnam, an industry group said.

Thailand exported 6.9 million tons of rice last year, falling behind India which shipped 9.5 million tons and Vietnam which sold 7.8 million tons overseas, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

Thai exports slumped 35 percent from the 2011 level of about 10.6 million tons, based on the group’s figures.

“We had been the champion since 1980, for 31 years, but we lost the top spot in 2012,” the group’s honorary president Chookiat Ophaswongse said.

He said the figures from the rival exporters were based on data from Vietnam’s rice industry and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s more than one-year-old policy to buy rice from farmers for 50 percent more than the market price, while popular with the rural poor has hit the competitiveness of Thai exports.

“Now Thai rice is $130-150 per tonne more expensive than our competitors. That’s why our exports have fallen as no customer can buy from us,” said Chookiat.

“Exporters should change their jobs because they can’t survive. Rice has become a political issue now,” he said.

The kingdom produces about 20 million tons of the grain annually on average, about half of which was sold overseas in the past.

Source AFP